Metal interconnects for super (skip) via integration

ABSTRACT

The present disclosure relates to semiconductor structures and, more particularly, to metal interconnect structures for super (skip) via integration and methods of manufacture. The structure includes: a first wiring layer with one or more wiring structures; a second wiring layer including an interconnect and wiring structure; and at least one upper wiring layer with one or more via interconnect and wiring structures located above the second wiring layer. The one or more via interconnect and wiring structures partially including a first metal material and remaining portions with a conductive material over the first metal material. A skip via passes through the second wiring layer and extends to the one or more wiring structures of the first wiring layer. The skip via partially includes the metal material and remaining portions of the skip via includes the conductive material over the first metal material.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present disclosure relates to semiconductor structures and, moreparticularly, to metal interconnect structures for super (skip) viaintegration and methods of manufacture.

BACKGROUND

A via is an electrical connection between wiring structures (e.g.,wiring layers) in a physical electronic circuit that goes through theplane of one or more adjacent layers. For example, in integrated circuitdesign, a via is a small opening in an insulating oxide layer thatallows a conductive connection between different wiring layers. A viaconnecting the lowest layer of metal to diffusion or poly is typicallycalled a “contact”.

In via technology, a super via, also known as a skip via, can be formedthrough many insulator layers, e.g., bypassing one or more wiringstructures within the insulator layers, to connect with a lower wiringstructure. This provides improved resistance characteristics, minimizescapacitance for a lower wiring structure, e.g., at M0 layer, as well asprovides area efficiencies in the chip manufacturing process.

There are many challenges to using skip vias, though. For example, inthe manufacturing process, the skip via will need to land on a wiringstructure in a lower level (e.g., M0 level), while the regular via willneed to land on the wiring structure in an upper level (e.g., M1 orabove level). Also, in skip via processes, a conventional copper platingprocess is used to fill the vias. The copper plating process, though,grows from all directions including the sidewalls and bottom of the viaresulting in extensive voids created due to pinch-off from sidewallgrowth and bottom voids from insufficient physical vapor deposition(PVD) seed coverage on the high aspect ratio via. Voids can also resultfrom the undercut profile formed by ultra-low k (ULK)plasma-induced-damage (PID) or cap-to-interlevel dielectric selectivity.Also, the liner/seed is not sufficient to cover the full length of thehigh aspect ratio via, also resulting in void formation. These voidsnegatively affect the resistivity of the skip vias which, in turn,decreases device performance.

SUMMARY

In an aspect of the disclosure, a structure comprises: a first wiringlayer with one or more wiring structures; a second wiring layercomprising an interconnect structure and a wiring structure; at leastone upper wiring layer with one or more via interconnect and wiringstructures located above the second wiring layer, the one or more viainterconnect and wiring structures of the at least upper wiring layerpartially comprising a first metal material with remaining portionscomprising a conductive material over the first metal material; and askip via passing through the second wiring layer and extending to theone or more wiring structures of the first wiring layer, the skip viapartially comprising the metal material with remaining portions of theskip via comprising the conductive material over the first metalmaterial.

In an aspect of the disclosure, a method comprises: forming a via toexpose one or more wiring structures of an upper wiring layer; forming askip via which passes through the upper wiring layer and which exposesone or more wiring structures of a lower wiring layer; selectivelygrowing metal material in the via and partially within the skip via; andfilling remaining portions of the skip via with conductive material.

In an aspect of the disclosure, a method comprises: forming a wiringlayer with one or more wiring structures in a lower wiring layer;forming a wiring layer with one or more wiring structures in an upperwiring layer, located above the lower wiring layer; forming a via toexpose the one or more wiring structures of the upper wiring layer;forming a skip via which passes through the upper wiring layer and whichexposes the one or more wiring structures in the lower wiring layer;selectively growing metal material on exposed portions of the one ormore wiring structures of the upper wiring layer and the lower wiringlayer; and filling remaining portions of the skip via and a trench ofanother wiring layer above the upper wiring layer with conductivematerial.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present disclosure is described in the detailed description whichfollows, in reference to the noted plurality of drawings by way ofnon-limiting examples of exemplary embodiments of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 1 shows a several wiring structure and a skip via structure,amongst other features, and respective fabrication processes inaccordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 shows a skip via structure filled with a cobalt material, amongstother features, and respective fabrication processes in accordance withaspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 shows metallization in the skip via structure and regular viastructure, amongst other features, and respective fabrication processesin accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure relates to semiconductor structures and, moreparticularly, to metal interconnect structures for super (skip) viaintegration and methods of manufacture. More specifically, the presentdisclosure describes a selective electroless cobalt (Co) or Nickel (Ni)(or its alloys) process that grows material, e.g., cobalt or nickel,from the bottom-up in a skip via structure. Accordingly, by using theselective electroless growth process, cobalt or nickel will not form onthe sidewalls of the skip via which, in turn, ensures that there is avoid free fill regardless of profile and aspect ratio of the skip via.In this way, advantageously, extensive voids due to pinch-off fromsidewall growth and bottom voids from insufficient physical vapordeposition (PVD) seed coverage on the high aspect ratio via can beprevented which, in turn, will decrease the resistivity of the skip viasand hence increase device performance. Also, advantageously, the metalinterconnect structures described herein can have an impact onbackend-of-the line (BEOL) and middle-of-the-line (MOL) interconnectstructures for 7 nm devices and beyond, where conventional BEOL or MOLmetallization may not be extendable.

The metal interconnect structures of the present disclosure can bemanufactured in a number of ways using a number of different tools. Ingeneral, though, the methodologies and tools are used to form structureswith dimensions in the micrometer and nanometer scale. Themethodologies, i.e., technologies, employed to manufacture the metalinterconnect structures of the present disclosure have been adopted fromintegrated circuit (IC) technology. For example, the structures arebuilt on wafers and are realized in films of material patterned byphotolithographic processes on the top of a wafer. In particular, thefabrication of the metal interconnect structures uses three basicbuilding blocks: (i) deposition of thin films of material on asubstrate, (ii) applying a patterned mask on top of the films byphotolithographic imaging, and (iii) etching the films selectively tothe mask.

FIG. 1 shows a structure and respective fabrication processes inaccordance with aspects of the present disclosure. In embodiments, thestructure 10 shown in FIG. 1 can be BEOL or MOL structures, as examples.In particular, the structure 10 includes a plurality of wiring levels,e.g., M0, M1, etc., in a die. For example, the structure 10 includeswiring structures 14 provided in an insulator material 12. As should beunderstood by those of skill in the art, the wiring structures 14 arelower wiring structures, designated representatively at an M0 level forBEOL, or CA/CB leveler for middle of the line (MOL); although the wiringstructures 14 can be provided at any lower level of the structure.

In embodiments, the insulator material 14 is an oxide based material(SiO₂), e.g., interlevel dielectric material, which can be deposited bya conventional deposition method, e.g., chemical vapor deposition (CVD).The insulator material 14 can also be an ultra low-k dielectricmaterial, a carbon doped insulator material or other insulator materialwith porosity.

The wiring structures 14 can be formed by conventional lithography,etching and deposition methods known to those of skill in the art. Forexample, a resist formed over the insulator material 12 is exposed toenergy (light) to form a pattern (opening). An etching process with aselective chemistry, e.g., reactive ion etching (RIE), will be used toform one or more trenches in the insulator material 12 through theopenings of the resist. The resist can then be removed by a conventionaloxygen ashing process or other known stripants. Following the resistremoval, conductive material can be deposited in the one or moretrenches by any conventional deposition processes, e.g., chemical vapordeposition (CVD) processes. The wiring structures 14 can be composed ofany conductive material such as, e.g., copper, tungsten, cobalt, nickel,aluminum, ruthenium etc. The wiring structures 14 can also be lined withTi, Ta, TiN, TaN, ruthenium, cobalt, etc. Any residual material 14 onthe surface of the insulator material 12 can be removed by conventionalchemical mechanical polishing (CMP) processes.

Following the CMP process, a capping layer 16 is formed on the wiringstructures 14 and insulator material 12. In embodiments, the cappinglayer 16 can be a diffusion barrier layer, e.g., copper diffusionbarrier layer, which prevents copper or other metallization diffusion toan upper insulator layer 18 as well as preventing oxygen diffusion tothe wiring structures 14. Wiring structures 20 and via interconnectstructures 22 are formed in the upper insulator layer 18. Inembodiments, the wiring structures 20 and the interconnect structures 22can be formed in any wiring layer above that of the wiring structures14. Accordingly, the wiring structures 20 are upper wiring structures,designated at an M1, M2, etc. level; whereas, the interconnectstructures 22 are upper via interconnect structures designated at V0,V1, etc. level. The wiring structures 20 and the interconnect structures22 can be formed using conventional lithography, etching and depositionprocesses, similar to that which was discussed with respect to theformation of the lower wiring structures 14. The wiring structures 20and the via interconnect structures 22 can be composed of any conductivematerial such as, e.g., copper, cobalt, nickel, tungsten, aluminum,ruthenium etc., lined with Ti, Ta, TiN, TaN, ruthenium, cobalt, etc.

Following a CMP process to remove any residual material from the surfaceof the insulator material 18, a capping layer 24 is formed on the wiringstructures 20 and insulator material 18. In embodiments, the cappinglayer 24 can be a diffusion barrier layer, e.g., copper diffusionbarrier layer, as described above, the insulator material 18 can be anyinsulator material as described above. A masking material 28 is formedon the surface of the insulator material 18, between edges of selectedwiring structures 20 on the M1 level and wiring structures 14 on the M0level. The masking material 28 can be TiN, deposited and patterned byconventional deposition and etching processes, e.g., RIE. A resist 30 isformed on the masking material 28 and insulator material 18, which isexposed to energy (light) to form a pattern (openings) in alignment withone or more wiring structures 14, 22 at the M0, M1 levels, respectively.

An etching process with a selective chemistry, e.g., RIE, will be usedto form one or more via openings 32 a, 32 b in the insulator material 18and capping layer 24, through the openings of the resist. The etchingprocess can be timed to stop at a depth in which a surface of the upperwiring structure 20 is exposed by the via 32 b. In this way, the via 32b will be at a depth which lands on and expose a surface of the wiringstructure 20 on the M1 level, whereas, the via 32 a will land on andexpose a surface of the lower wiring (e.g., M0 level) layer 14 (passingthrough the upper wiring layer, e.g., M1 level). A trench RIE can alsobe performed to form a trench 36 (e.g., a trench for a wiring structureon an upper level, e.g., level M2), followed by removal of the resist 30by conventional stripants and the masking material 28 by wet processes.In embodiments, the vias 32 a, 32 b and the trench 36 can be formed bysingle damascene or dual damascene processes. The combination of theskip via 32 a and the trench 36 can be about 30 nm to about 150 nm indepth and about 12 nm to about 50 nm in width, e.g., high aspect ratio;although other aspect ratios are also contemplated herein.

As shown in FIG. 2, the skip via 32 a is partially filled with cobalt(Co) 38; whereas, the interconnect via 32 b can be completely filledwith the cobalt (Co) 38 during the same processes. In embodiments, thevia 32 b can also be partially filled with cobalt (Co) 38 depending onthe timing of the deposition process. Also, the trench 36 above the via32 b is partially filled with the cobalt (Co) 38; that is the cobalt(Co) 38 will not overfill the trench and, instead, only partially fillthe trench 36 above the wiring structures 20 on the M1 level, as anexample. It should be understood by those of skill in the art that theinterconnect structure formed in the via 32 a will be a skip viastructure, electrically and directly connecting to wiring structure 14on the M0 level, e.g., bypassing any connections in the M1 or abovelevel. The cobalt (Co) 38 in the via 32 a can be a regular dualdamascene interconnect structure, providing electrical and directconnection to the wiring structure 14 on the lower level. The cobalt(Co) 38 in the via 32 b, on the other hand, will be a regular singledamascene trench interconnect structure, providing electrical and directconnection to the wiring structure 20 on the lower level. Inembodiments, the cobalt can be substituted with nickel, as an example.In further embodiments, the grown material can be alloys of nickel orcobalt.

In embodiments, the cobalt (Co) 38 is formed by a selective electrolessgrowth process on the M0, M1 level, from the bottom upwards in the vias32 a, 32 b. More specifically, in embodiments, the cobalt (Co) 38 willselectively grow on the exposed metal surfaces of the one or more wiringstructures 14 of a lower wiring layer and the wiring structures 20 on anupper wiring layer, while not growing on the insulator sidewalls of thevias 32 a, 32 b, e.g., the cobalt (Co) 38 will not grow on the insulatormaterial forming the sidewalls of the vias. In this way, the cobalt (Co)38 growth process will completely fill in the lower portion of the skipvia 32 a from the bottom, upwards, preventing any void formation withinthe via 32 a. In other words, the selective growth process will ensurethat there is a void free fill of the skip via 32 a, regardless of itsprofile and aspect ratio, seed coverage, ultra-low k (ULK)plasma-induced-damage (PID) on either the wiring structures 14, 20 orcap-to-interlevel dielectric selectivity. This, in turn, void freeformation of the interconnect structure will decrease the resistivity ofthe skip via 32 a. It should also be understood by those of skill in theart that the electroless growth process of cobalt (Co) is compatiblewith dielectric materials, hence eliminating the need for a barrierlayer.

As shown in FIG. 3, the remaining portions of the via 32 a and thetrenches 36 (for upper wiring structures) are filled with conductivematerial 40 to form dual damascene structures, e.g., interconnectstructures and upper wiring structures. In embodiments, the metalmaterial can be copper, cobalt, nickel, aluminum, tungsten, it alloys,etc., to name a few contemplated materials. The conductive material 40can be deposited by a conventional deposition method, e.g., electroless,electroplating, CVD and/or physical vapor deposition (PVD) and/or atomiclayer deposition (ALD), followed by a conventional planarizationprocess, e.g., CMP, to remove any residual material on the insulatorlayer 26. A capping layer 42 can then be formed over the insulator layer26 and conductive material 40, followed by conventional BEOL processesfor upper level builds until solder connect structures.

The method(s) as described above is used in the fabrication ofintegrated circuit chips. The resulting integrated circuit chips can bedistributed by the fabricator in raw wafer form (that is, as a singlewafer that has multiple unpackaged chips), as a bare die, or in apackaged form. In the latter case the chip is mounted in a single chippackage (such as a plastic carrier, with leads that are affixed to amotherboard or other higher level carrier) or in a multichip package(such as a ceramic carrier that has either or both surfaceinterconnections or buried interconnections). In any case the chip isthen integrated with other chips, discrete circuit elements, and/orother signal processing devices as part of either (a) an intermediateproduct, such as a motherboard, or (b) an end product. The end productcan be any product that includes integrated circuit chips, ranging fromtoys and other low-end applications to advanced computer products havinga display, a keyboard or other input device, and a central processor.

The descriptions of the various embodiments of the present disclosurehave been presented for purposes of illustration, but are not intendedto be exhaustive or limited to the embodiments disclosed. Manymodifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skillin the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the describedembodiments. The terminology used herein was chosen to best explain theprinciples of the embodiments, the practical application or technicalimprovement over technologies found in the marketplace, or to enableothers of ordinary skill in the art to understand the embodimentsdisclosed herein.

What is claimed:
 1. A method, comprising: forming a via to expose one ormore wiring structures of an upper wiring layer; forming a skip viawhich passes through the upper wiring layer and which exposes one ormore wiring structures of a lower wiring layer; selectively growingmetal material in the via and partially within the skip via; and fillingremaining portions of the skip via with conductive material.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the selective growth of the metal materialcomprises selectively growing cobalt or nickel in the skip via topartially fill the skip via.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein theselective growth of the cobalt or nickel is an electroless growthprocess.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the electroless growthprocess is from a bottom upwards within the skip via, starting from anexposed portion of the one or more wiring structures of the lower wiringlayer.
 5. The method of claim 3, wherein the electroless growth processdoes not grow on insulator sidewalls of the skip via.
 6. The method ofclaim 5, wherein the electroless growth process prevents void formationin the skip via.
 7. The method of claim 3, wherein the conductivematerial is cobalt, nickel or its alloy.
 8. The method of claim 3,wherein the growth of the cobalt or nickel or its alloys partially fillsa wiring trench above the via and the method further comprising fillingremaining portions of the wiring trench with the conductive material toform an upper wiring layer.
 9. A method, comprising: forming a wiringlayer with one or more wiring structures in a lower wiring layer;forming a wiring layer with one or more wiring structures in an upperwiring layer, located above the lower wiring layer; forming a via toexpose the one or more wiring structures of the upper wiring layer;forming a skip via which passes through the upper wiring layer and whichexposes the one or more wiring structures in the lower wiring layer;selectively growing metal material on exposed portions of the one ormore wiring structures of the upper wiring layer and the lower wiringlayer; and filling remaining portions of the skip via and a trench ofanother wiring layer above the upper wiring layer with conductivematerial.
 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the selective growth of themetal material comprises an electroless selective growth process ofcobalt or nickel in the skip via to partially fill the skip via.
 11. Themethod of claim 9, wherein the electroless selective growth process isfrom a bottom upwards within the skip via, starting from an exposedportion of the one or more wiring structures of the lower wiring layer.12. The method of claim 9, wherein the growth of the cobalt or nickelpartially fills a wiring trench above the via and the method furthercomprising filling remaining portions of the wiring trench with theconductive material to form an upper wiring layer.